The production of vehicle bodies and motor vehicles fell by 20.2% in the month under review, that of pharmaceuticals by 19.2% and that of non-metallic minerals by 10%, the report revealed.

Colombia's industrial output remained in negative territory in September, while retail trade slowed amid contradictory growth in economic activity in the South American country, the National Statistics Department (DANE) reported on Thursday.

Industrial output fell 4.2% in September compared with the same month last year. The decline was also deeper than the 1.8% year-on-year decline reported in August.

In September, 27 of the 39 industrial activities registered negative variations in their production, DANE said in a statement.

The production of vehicle bodies and motor vehicles fell by 20.2% in the month under review, that of pharmaceuticals by 19.2% and that of non-metallic minerals by 10%, the report revealed.

Between January and September, manufacturing output fell by 2.9% year-on-year. In the 12 months to September, output shrank by 3.8% compared with the same period last year.

Retail sales in the South American country rose 1.5% year-on-year in September, down from 5.2% in August.

In the ninth month, 11 lines of merchandise registered positive variations in their sales, mainly those of information technology and telecommunications for personal or domestic use, which advanced by 25.4%, and those of vehicles, which expanded by 14.8%.

However, in the cumulative period between January and September, retail sales decreased by 0.6% year-on-year and in the last 12 months they contracted by 2.2%.

The Central Bank projects that Latin America's fourth-largest economy will expand by 1.9% this year, while Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla expects gross domestic product (GDP) growth of over 2%.

The Central Bank completed a 325 basis point reduction in its main reference interest rate from December 2023 to the current level of 9.75%, as part of a plan to revive the economy and domestic consumption.